Analysis the outcomes of traditional Chinese medicine clinical pathway in the treatment of cervical spondylotic radiculopathy

Abstract

Objective To investigate the effect of treating cervical spondylotic radiculopathy with traditional Chinese medicine. Methods 110 patients with cervical spondylotic radiculopathy were treated with traditional Chinese medical pathway： Chinese herbal medicine soaking （incised notoptetygium rhizome, Chinese angelica, divaricate saposhnikovia root, safflower, dahurian angelica root, myrrh, common floweringqince fruit, and tuberculate speranskia herb, etc.）-Acupuncture-cervical traction-massage, once daily, 10 times as a course of treatment. After two courses, therapeutic effect score was analyzed. Results Of all 110 cases, 35 cases（31.82%）were cured; 53 cases（48.18%）had obvious effectiveness; 17 cases（15.45%）had effectiveness; 5 cases（4.55%）had no effectiveness. The total efficiency was 95.45%. The patient’s age（χ2=0.296）, sex（U=0.023）, and duration of disease（χ2=0.577）had no significant effect on the efficacy（P>0.05）;After the treatment, neck pain, upper extremity pain, upper extremity numbness, neck tenderness, intervertebral foramina compression test, sensory disturbances limbs, myodynamia of upper limbs, and tendon reflexes were significantly improved compared with before treatment, with significant difference（t=16.355、11.958、7.755、4.927、11.780、8.647、10.485、3.190、3.873、3.367,P<0.05）. Conclusion The use of traditional Chinese medicine clinical pathway in treating cervical spondylotic radiculopathy was effective and it could improve the quality of medical care. Key words: Cervical spondylotic radiculopathy; Traditional Chinese medicine clinical pathway; Clinical efficacy